use during the height of the PC movement. As others mentioned, someone decided that inactives would be "offended" if missionaries tried to reach out to them "activating" them and it would hurt the work.

So we were instructed to say "less-active". This was especially humorous in Korea, where the "less-actives" were most definitely "inactive", with many either rejecting the church outright or not even remembering being baptized.

IMO, there should be a distinction between inactives and less-actives. It makes sense, and that is what the English language implies.

But we don't live in that world anymore.